Stamp and seal handling device.



No. 814,708. PATENTED MAR. 13, 1906.

G. B. KILBON. STAMP AND SEAL HANDLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 23, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 814,708. I PATENTED MAR. 13, 1906.

G. B. KILBON.

STAMP AND SEAL HANDLING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED OCT. 23, 1902. i

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

gvwewfo'c :eay: 4, 722% GEORGE E. KILBON, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

STAMP AND SEAL HANDLING DEVICE.

No. 814,708. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 13, 1906.

Application filed October 23, 1902. Serial No. 128.484.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. KILBON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and Commonwealth ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Stamp and Seal HandlingDevice, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for handling stamps,seals, or similar objects of a thin or light texture or material; andthe object of my improvement is to provide a device by means of which astamp or seal may be raised, moistened, and affixed to the envelop ordocument to which it is desired to attach the same, all without handlingsuch stamp or seal with the fingers.

A further object is to produce a device of this kind which is simple andinexpensive, practicable, and efficient.

In a general way my device may be said to consist of a receiver for thestamps or seals and an affixer separable at one end or having a cleftbase adapted to enter said receiver and provided on its separable endwith spurs, as hereinafter described and claimed.

I attain these objects by the means illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- 1 Figure 1 is a side elevation of the sealhandlingdevice; Fig. 2, a side elevation of the affixer and a vertical sectionthrough the receiver, showing a bunch of seals therein; Fig. 3, anenlarged bottom view of the affixer, showing one arrangement of thespurs; Fig. 4, an enlarged side view of the aforesaid bot tom part; Fig.5, an isometric view of the stamp-handling device, a portion of thereceiver being broken away to show a bunch of stamps within; Fig. 6, avertical section through the center of the affixer shown in Fig. 5, andFig. 7 a bottom view of the stampaflixer.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings I have shown two forms of my device, one adapted tohandle round seals and the other adapted to handle ordinarypostage-stamps; but, aside from the shape, an affixer constructedsimilarly to that shown in connection with the seal-handling device maybe used for stamps, or one constructed after the manner of that shown inconnection with the stamp-handling device may be used with theseal-handling device. The two forms of construction of the affixer shownhave been found to be practical and efficient; but it is obvious thatvarious other changes may be made in the construction of this member solong as it is provided with a separable base equipped with projectingspurs, which are the essential features of my invention.

Describing first the seal-handling device, I provide a receiverconsisting of a base a, having a tubular holder 1) rising from thecenter of the same. metal, an annular block 0 of wood or othernon-metallic substance should be fastened in the bottom of the chamberin the holder 1), for the reason presently to be explained.

The sealaflixer comprises a cylindrical body (1, surmounted by a bulb e.The body (1 is provided with a separable base by having a central cleftf extend from the bottom up into the bulb, and the sections thus formedare prevented from spreading so far that said If this receiver is madeof body cannot be introduced into the holder 1) by means of a collar 9encircling the body at its upper part and fastened to one of saidsections. To further explain the need of the collar g, it may be saidthat the two sections of the body are normally separated by the cleft fand might spring so far apartas to prevent said body from beingintroduced into the holder 1) were it not for the presence of saidcollar, which always maintains them in proper condition to be thusintroduced. On the bottom of the affixer is a plurality of minute spursh, preferably four in number, two in the base of each section. The spursIt should be driven at an angle through the sides of the body until theyproject slightly below the base thereof. It will now be readily seenthat when the body is forced down onto an object as thin and light as aseal and the sections pressed together at the base the spurs h willstick into the seal, which may be lifted up by and with said body, andwhen pressure on said sections is relaxed the resiliency of the materialof which the body is composed will cause the sections and opposite setsof spurs to separate and release the seal. The spurs it should projectbelow the base of the body only so far as is necessary to enable them topick up a single seal. In other words, such projection should be aboutequal to the thickness of the seal. In no event must these spurs havesufficient projection to pene- 'trate two seals at the same time, or atleast to penetrate to such an extent that the second one will be liftedout of the receiver.

In Fig. 3 the spurs h are shown as being didirected toward those in theopposite section,

as shown in Fig. 7.

In operation, a bunch of seals iwith their gummed sides down having beenplaced in the bottom of the receiver 1), the affixer, held in anyconvenient manner so that its bodysections may be readily compressed, isinserted into said holder, pressed down firmly onto the seals, andcompressed in the manner hereinbefore described. Without releasing thecompression, the affixer is next lifted out with a seal firmly attachedto the base thereof. This seal is now moistened with the tongue orotherwise and then firmly pressed into place on the document or articleto which it is to be affixed, at the same time pressure on thebody-sections being relaxed, and finally the aflixer is removed, leavingthe seal firmly adhering to the document. Another seal can be removedand affixed as before, and so on until the whole bunch has beenexhausted.

The object of the block 0 is to prevent blunting, bending, or breakingthe ends of the spurs h when they are pressed into engagement with thelast seal in the receiver, such damage being liable to occur if saidspurs were forced into contact with a metallic I surface.

Passing now to a description of the stamphandling device, (shown inFigs. 5, 6, and 7,) a rectangular receiver is here provided having abase a and a holder 6. In case this receiver is made of metal arectangular block 0 is placed in the bottom of the chamber in theholder 1) for the same reason as that ascribed to the use of the block0.

Besides being rectangular instead of cylindrical, the stamp-affixerdiffers from the sealaffixer in that the former is cleft through itsentire lengththat is, though both the body d and the bulb e-and thesections thus formed are normally separated by means of a spring j,introduced into suitable pockets located in the approximate center ofthe aflixer, and screws g g, passing loosely throughone of the sectionsand threaded into the other, are employed in place of the collar 9 tolimit the amount of separation provided for by said spring. Spurs 7b aredriven at an angle into opposite sides of the body d to emerge throughthe base at both sides of the cleft f and are for the purpose set forthin connection with the description of the spurs 7t. Although the cleft fextends clear through the stamp-aifixer, the operation of the same doesnot materially differ from that of the seal affixer, and it is evidentthat a spring might be introduced into the latter and a screw used inplace of the collar 9; furthermore, that such a collar differing only inshape might be substituted for one of the screws g in the Fig. 5

construction and that the cleft therein might be shortened at the top,thereby dispensing with the upper screw g and probably the spring Theholder 6 having been partly filled with stamps i, the latter may beremoved one at a time and caused to adhere to envelops by means of therectangular aflixer manipulated in precisely the same manner as theseal-af- A convenient form of spur and means for attaching it to theaffixer have been illustrated and described 3 but any suitablesubstitution may be resorted to provided the proper projection and angleare maintained, it being necessary that at least one of the spurs beinclined relative to the surrounding or supporting surface or bottom ofthe affixerbody in order to produce the best results. The spurs are allshown as being inclined in the drawings; but it is plain that the devicewould be operative if only those on one side of the cleft were sodisposed, the others standing parallel with the longitudinal center ofthe aifixer, or in the event of three spurs being used instead of foureither the one stationed alone on one side of the cleft may be inclinedor the two stationed on the other side, provided it is not deemedexpedient to incline all three.

The device may be constructed to handle any desired shape of stamps,seals, or similar objects other than round or rectangular, and variouschanges besides those already pointed out may be made without departingfrom the nature of my invention.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in a device for handling stamps, seals, &c., with anaflixer having a cleft base, capable of being vibrated to open and closethe cleft, and provided with means to engage such stamps, seals, &c., ofa receiver for said stamps, seals, &c., adapted to admit said base.

2. The combination, in a device for handling stamps, seals, &c., with anaflixer having a cleft base, capable of being vibrated to open and closethe cleft, and provided with spurs projecting from such base on oppositesides of such cleft to engage such stamps seals, &c., of a receiveradapted to hold such articles as stamps, &c., and to admit said base.

3. The combination with a suitable receiver, of an aflixer separable atone end and there provided with projecting spurs arranged on oppositesides of the line of separation,one or more of said spurs being inclinedrelative to the surrounding surface.

4. The combination with a suitable receiver, of an aflixer having acleft base and inclined projecting spurs fixed thereto on opposite sidesof the cleft therein,

IIO

5. The combination, in a device for handling stamps, seals, &c. with anafliXer having a cleft base, capable of being vibrated to open and closethe cleft, and provided with spurs projecting from such base for adistance approximately equal to the thickness of the stamp, seal, orother object, to be acted upon, of a receiver adapted to hold sucharticles as stamps, &c., and to admit said base.

6. The combination with a suitable receiver, of an affixer separable atone end and there provided with spurs projecting for a distanceapproximately equal to the thickness of the stamp, seal, or otherobject, to be acted upon, one or more of said spurs being inclinedrelative to the surrounding surface.

7. The combination with a receiver capable of holding a bunch of stamps,seals, and the like, of an affixer having a body separated by a cleftinto sections and adapted to enter said receiver and provided with spursadapted to penetrate a stamp or seal when the cleft sections of saidbody are compressed and to release the same when such compression isrelaxed.

8. The combination with a receiver capable of holding stamps, seals, andthe like, of an aflixer comprising a body having a cleft extendingthrough the same and adapted to enter said receiver and provided withspurs projecting from the base thereof. each side of the cleft therein,and means to limit the separation of the sections of said body.

9. The combination with a receiver capable of holding stamps, seals, andthe like, of an affiXer comprising a cleft body provided with spursprojecting from the base thereof each side of the cleft therein, andmeans to normally separate the sections of said body.

10. The combination with a receiver capable of holding stamps, seals,and the like, of an affiXer comprising a cleft body provided with spursin the base thereof at each side of the cleft therein, means to normallyseparate the sections of said body, and means to limit the amount ofseparation.

11. The combination with a receiver provided with a comparatively softblock for the reception of stamps, seals, and the like, of an affixercleft at the base and provided on its bottom with projectingspurs, saidblock being adapted to be penetrated by the spurs when the latter arebrought into contact therewith.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE B. KILBON.

Vitnesses:

ALLEN WEBsTER, F. A. CUTTER.

